While most people think of the four seasons we all know so well, birders have a different calendar with more descriptive headings than “spring” and “winter.” And right now we are at the peak of hawk season.

More than a quarter-million-dollars worth of grants have been distributed to Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic national parks from Washington's National Park Fund, which has contributed more than $1.4 million to the parks during the past five years.

Relocating a stretch of road, adding some recreational amenities, and moving some structures out of the flood plain are key components of the final Stehekin River Corridor Plan approved at North Cascades National Park in Washington state.

A package of bills that would toss aside environmental laws and regulations protecting a wide number of national parks passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, though its prospects in the Senate were unclear.

A package of legislation that sponsors call the Conservation and Economic Growth Act and which critics maintain would severely cripple the nation's environmental laws and pose a threat to the National Park System is expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives this week.

Coming soon to book dealers is a hefty new guide to the national parks -- the 58 "national parks" -- that strives to go a step further than the texts offered by publishers such as Fodor's, Frommers, and Falcon Guides.

A number of national parks are clustered around some of the 10 rivers whose health is being threatened by mining operations, pollution, dredging, proposed dams, and other impacts that American Rivers found them deserving to be listed as America's Most Endangered Rivers.

Just in time for Mother's Day, as well as Father's Day, is the 7th edition of The Complete Guide To The National Park Lodges. Along with updates in the rundown on park lodges is the insertion of full-color images from lodges and settings in the national parks.

The National Park Service recently released a prospectus for lodging and associated services in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, one of three units that comprise the Washington state’s North Cascades National Park Complex.

You can add the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees to the groups that are concerned about efforts by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop to dismantle many of the nation's environmental laws in the name of border security.

Can the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916 continue to serve the National Park Service well in its second century? Professor Robert B. Keiter, the Wallace Stegner professor of law at the University of Utah, addresses that question in the following essay.

When Congress returns to Washington later this month, watch for Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee to resume a push to exempt the Border Patrol from a wide variety of environmental and National Park Service regulations.

If you can't find yourself out on a trail, then perhaps the next best thing is reading about trails, no? Which is a good reason to invest in The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, a two-volume collection of narratives that share in common the Pacific Crest Trail.

Not all stories have to have a hard edge to them to be considered nicely done. What follows are some stories from, or revolving around, the National Park System that we liked for what they had to say, or how they had to say it, or what we learned from them. We hope you enjoyed them, too.

Humans are creatures of comfort, so perhaps it should not be a surprise that warming temperatures associated with climate change are altering the seasons slightly when it comes to visiting national parks, according to a study.

A name change, wilderness and wild and scenic river designation, and improved visitor services are all provided for in the National Park Service's final general management plan/environmental impact statement on the Ross Lake National Recreation Area in Washington state.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, concerned that the Endangered Species Act is wasting more money on lawsuits than recovering species, has scheduled a full committee hearing on the act for next week.

Though it was designated in 1968, North Cascades National Park embraces an incomplete landscape, one that could be made more robust and attractive to visitors with the addition of nearly 238,000 surrounding acres, according to a group pushing for park expansion.

There is a false sense of security in the National Park System surrounding officially designated wilderness. And political actions, or, rather, inaction, demonstrates why there should be concern for the long-term fate of lands with wilderness qualities.

Visit the national parks next summer, because who knows what shape they'll be in in 2013. That was the message Monday evening from National Parks Conservation Association officials in reaction to the failure by Congress' supercommittee to craft a deficit reduction plan.

America is abundantly rich in the "natural assets" found within the National Park System, but inadequate funding by Congress is threatening the core health of that system, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.